Rasmussen to come clean

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Copenhagen - Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen is expected to confess on Thursday that he has used performance-enhancing drugs in what would be the latest doping scandal in the sport since Lance Armstrong's admission earlier this month.

Rasmussen will hold a news conference at 15:00 SA time. Denmark's anti-doping agency has scheduled its own news conference later in the afternoon. It declined to give any comments before.

Danish sports site sporten.dk reported that the 38-year-old Rasmussen will come clean about "extensive doping" during his career.

Rasmussen led the 2007 Tour de France until he was kicked off for lying about his whereabouts when he missed pre-race doping tests.

He later admitted that he had lied and was banned from cycling for two years, but has so far insisted he didn't break any rules and never tested positive for any drugs.

Rasmussen's news conference comes during a turbulent time for cycling, two weeks after Armstrong admitted he doped on his way to seven Tour de France victories.

Earlier this week, anti-doping authorities suspended Luxembourg cyclist Frank Schleck until July 14 after he tested positive for a banned substance during last year's Tour de France. Schleck has denied any wrongdoing.

Danish cycling's biggest doping scandal so far was when Bjarne Riis revealed in 2007 that he had used EPO, a mix of growth hormones and cortisone, to win the Tour in 1996. Riis is now owner and manager of Team Saxo-Tinkoff.

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